Plaques Contextualizing Slavery and Enslaved Labor on Campus to be Unveiled

On March 2, 2018, the University of Mississippi will unveil contextualization plaques initially recommended by the Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on History and Context (CACHC) for Barnard Observatory, Lamar Hall, Longstreet Hall, George Hall, and a plaque recognizing the university’s enslaved laborers in the construction of Barnard Observatory, the Old Chapel (now Croft), the Lyceum, and Hilgard Cut.

Additionally, after receiving positive public input, Chancellor Jeff Vitter has accepted the further recommendation from the CACHC to add a contextualization plaque for the stained-glass Tiffany windows in Ventress Hall. This plaque will also be included in the ceremony along with the five plaques listed above.

This campus map shows, in yellow, the various sites where contextualization plaques will be placed.

Members of the University of Mississippi Slavery Research Group, including co-chairs Jeff Jackson and Charles Ross, as well as Jennifer Ford, John Neff, Jennifer Stollman, Anne Twitty, and Jay Watson, have played an active role in both the CACHC and the event planning committee responsible for this upcoming ceremony. Information about individual marker locations and renderings of each of the plaques are available on the CACHC’s webpage.